By , BEIRUT/DUBAI (Reuters) - Lebanon’s main grain silo at Beirut port was destroyed in a blast, leaving the nation with less than a month’s reserves of the grain but enough flour to avoid a crisis, the economy minister said on Wednesday.Slideshow Raoul Nehme told Reuters a day after Tuesday’s devastating explosion that Lebanon needed reserves for at least three months to ensure food security and was looking at other storage areas.The explosion was the most powerful ever to rip through Beirut, a city torn apart by civil war three decades ago. The economy was already in meltdown before the...…By , BEIRUT/DUBAI (Reuters) - Lebanon’s main grain silo at Beirut port was destroyed in a blast, leaving the nation with less than a month’s reserves of the grain but enough flour to avoid a crisis, the economy minister said on Wednesday.Slideshow Raoul Nehme told Reuters a day after Tuesday’s devastating explosion that Lebanon needed reserves for at least three months to ensure food security and was looking at other storage areas.The explosion was the most powerful ever to rip through Beirut, a city torn apart by civil war three decades ago. The economy was already in meltdown before the...WW…

By , , DUBAI/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran.Under the accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank. It also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflict-riven Middle...…By , , DUBAI/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran.Under the accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank. It also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflict-riven Middle...WW…

By DUBAI (Reuters) - The World Food Programme (WFP) will send 50,000 tonnes of wheat flour to Lebanon after last week’s blast at Beirut’s port destroyed its only silo with all the private stocks held there, a United Nations report said on Tuesday.The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report said the flour would be sent “to stabilise the national supply and ensure there is no food shortage in the country”.A Reuters report on Friday said Lebanon’s government held no strategic stockpile of grain before the explosion and all privately held stocks at the country’s...…By DUBAI (Reuters) - The World Food Programme (WFP) will send 50,000 tonnes of wheat flour to Lebanon after last week’s blast at Beirut’s port destroyed its only silo with all the private stocks held there, a United Nations report said on Tuesday.The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report said the flour would be sent “to stabilise the national supply and ensure there is no food shortage in the country”.A Reuters report on Friday said Lebanon’s government held no strategic stockpile of grain before the explosion and all privately held stocks at the country’s...WW…

By , BEIRUT (Reuters) - The collapse of Lebanon’s currency has forced many grocery shops to temporarily shut within the last 24 hours, raising fears that a country reliant on imports could soon face shortages of food.Food shops around the country were locking their doors, halting online deliveries or restricting customers’ orders. Others stayed open, but could not say for how long.“There’s a big possibility we will close if it stays like this. I don’t know where will we get supplies, and no one is helping us,” said Beirut grocer Mohieldin Fayed, who has kept his shop open.The pound tumbled...…By , BEIRUT (Reuters) - The collapse of Lebanon’s currency has forced many grocery shops to temporarily shut within the last 24 hours, raising fears that a country reliant on imports could soon face shortages of food.Food shops around the country were locking their doors, halting online deliveries or restricting customers’ orders. Others stayed open, but could not say for how long.“There’s a big possibility we will close if it stays like this. I don’t know where will we get supplies, and no one is helping us,” said Beirut grocer Mohieldin Fayed, who has kept his shop open.The pound tumbled...WW…

By , BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s president told the army and security forces on Monday to clear roadblocks after a week of protests over a collapsing economy and paralysed government, but the army chief warned that troops should not get sucked into the political deadlock.President Michel Aoun issued the call to open up the roads across the country after a meeting with top officials while the army’s top commander held a separate meeting with military commanders at which he stressed the right to peaceful protest.Army chief General Joseph Aoun also berated Lebanon’s sectarian-based...…By , BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s president told the army and security forces on Monday to clear roadblocks after a week of protests over a collapsing economy and paralysed government, but the army chief warned that troops should not get sucked into the political deadlock.President Michel Aoun issued the call to open up the roads across the country after a meeting with top officials while the army’s top commander held a separate meeting with military commanders at which he stressed the right to peaceful protest.Army chief General Joseph Aoun also berated Lebanon’s sectarian-based...WW…

By , BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said U.S. air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in the east of the country on Friday were a cowardly act and urged President Joe Biden not to follow “the law of the jungle”.An Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the strikes killed one fighter and wounded four. U.S. officials said they were limited in scope to show Biden’s administration will act firmly while trying to avoid a big regional escalation.Washington and Tehran are seeking maximum leverage in attempts to save Iran’s nuclear deal reached with world powers in 2015 but abandoned in 2018 by...…By , BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said U.S. air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in the east of the country on Friday were a cowardly act and urged President Joe Biden not to follow “the law of the jungle”.An Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the strikes killed one fighter and wounded four. U.S. officials said they were limited in scope to show Biden’s administration will act firmly while trying to avoid a big regional escalation.Washington and Tehran are seeking maximum leverage in attempts to save Iran’s nuclear deal reached with world powers in 2015 but abandoned in 2018 by...WW…

By , BEIRUT, (Reuters) - Lebanese veteran politician Saad al-Hariri was named prime minister for a fourth time on Thursday and pledged to form a new government to tackle the country’s worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.After his nomination, Hariri said he would quickly form a cabinet of specialists to bring in economic and financial reforms set out in a French plan to get foreign aid.But he faces major challenges to navigate Lebanon’s sectarian politics to agree a cabinet, which must then fix a mounting list of woes: a banking crisis, currency crash, rising poverty and state debts.A...…By , BEIRUT, (Reuters) - Lebanese veteran politician Saad al-Hariri was named prime minister for a fourth time on Thursday and pledged to form a new government to tackle the country’s worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.After his nomination, Hariri said he would quickly form a cabinet of specialists to bring in economic and financial reforms set out in a French plan to get foreign aid.But he faces major challenges to navigate Lebanon’s sectarian politics to agree a cabinet, which must then fix a mounting list of woes: a banking crisis, currency crash, rising poverty and state debts.A...WW…